Thomas Rohler

World champion Johannes Vetter will take on Olympic champion Thomas Röhler in a big javelin showdown at the ISTAF Meeting, part of the IAAF World Challenge, on 27 August.

This year the German javelin aces have produced a string of exciting contests. Röhler broke the national record with 93.90m in Doha in early May. But Vetter responded by beating Röhler at the German Championships in Erfurt before improving the national record to 94.44m in Lucerne.

At the IAAF World Championships London 2017, Vetter had the upper hand with his impressive victory while Röhler only missed the bronze medal by seven centimetres.

The German pair will certainly not have everything their own way as Olympic silver medallist and 2015 world champion Julius Yego is also in the field.

Two-time world 200m champion Dafne Schippers, fresh from her triumph in London, will form part of a Dutch sprint relay quartet in Berlin, while the women’s long jump includes world silver medallist Darya Klishina and European champion Ivana Spanovic.

Germany’s Johannes Vetter won the javelin gold medal at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday beating his fellow country-mate and Olympic champion Thomas Rohler who missed the podium by the last throw of Petr Frydlejch.

Vetter, who moved to second on the all-time list last month with a 94.44 metres effort in Lucerne, produced another fine throw of 91.20 metres at the first attempt to power into Saturday’s final as the top qualifier

The 24 year-old opening throw of 89.89 metres was enough to win the gold and was overcome with emotion after clinching the title, mopping his tears on a German flag.

Czech Republic pair Jakub Vadlejch and Frydrych threw personal bests of 89.73 and 88.32 respectively to take silver and bronze.

Rohler, who like Vetter has thrown over 90 metres this season, was beaten into fourth with 88.26.

The surprise loser was the defending champion from Kenya Julius Yego who came with a PB of 92.72 and season best of 87.97 but could only manage a throw of 76.29 that placed him in last position.

Olympic champion Conseslus Kipruto will headline the 3000m steeplechase at Golden Spike in Ostrava, Czech Republic on 28 June, organisers of the IAAF World Challenge meeting have announced.

The men’s event was last staged in Ostrava in 2013 when Kipruto, then a rising star in the event and still just 18, took a comfortable victory less than two months before racing to silver at the World Championships in Moscow.

This year the Kenyan returns as the reigning Olympic champion, one of seven already confirmed for the event.

Rohler, who opened his season with a mammoth 93.90m effort in Doha on 5 May, will lead a German quartet that includes Johannes Vetter, Andreas Hofmann and Lars Hamann against a Czech squad composed of 2016 Diamond Trophy winner Jakub Vadlejch, 2013 world champion Vitezslav Vesely, Jaroslav Jilek and Petr Frydrych.

The German team, which will be captained by 1972 Olympic champion Klaus Wolfermann, has exhibited extraordinary form and depth this season, with Vetter improving to 89.68m in Doha, Hoffman to 88.79m in Offenburg, and Hamann to 86.71m, also at the 13 May meeting in Offenburg.

On current form, the standout on the Czech squad, captained by throwing legend Jan Zelezny, is Vadlejch who has twice come within 20 centimetres of 88 metres this season.

Each of the eight men will have six throws, with the best counting in the team tally.

With just 50 days to go until the athletics gets under way at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, this month will see many countries hold their national championships as they finalise their teams for the biggest sporting event in the world.

Competition will naturally be intense, but some battles will be more hotly contested than others. And while athletics superpowers such as the USA will have numerous qualifiers in almost every event battling for just three places, other smaller nations have surprising depth in some events.

Here’s a look at some of the most difficult national teams to make for this year’s Olympics.

Women’s 100m hurdles – USA

During the qualifying period, which began on 1 May 2015 and will end on 11 July 2016, the USA has had three women run 12.35 or faster in the 100m hurdles. And that tally doesn’t include the likes of 2008 Olympic champion Dawn Harper Nelson, two-time world indoor champion Nia Ali and 2013 world champion Brianna Rollins.

There are 37 US women in possession of the 13.00 qualifying standard; 31 of those will be in action at the up-coming US Olympic Trials.

Men’s long jump – South Africa

Only seven South African men in history have ever jumped beyond 8.15m, the Olympic qualifying distance. But six of those have done so during the current qualifying period.

In a time of unprecedented depth for South Africa in this event, Ruswahl Samaai is primed to take one of the spots on the team, having won the national title earlier in the year before equalling his 8.38m PB at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rabat. The other two spots on the team, though, are yet to be decided.

Women’s 200m – Great Britain

In terms of qualifiers, the USA dominates in this event with 91 women having achieved the 23.20 standard. But Great Britain’s depth in this event is notable.

There are 11 British women with the qualifying standard – seven of whom will be competing at this weekend’s British Championships – making it arguably their highest-quality event of all the Olympic athletics disciplines.

Men’s marathon – Kenya

Perhaps the most difficult of all national teams to make, Kenya has already named the three men who will represent them in the marathon in Rio.

Of all the 427 Kenyan men in possession of a qualifying performance – either a 2:19 clocking or a top-10 finish at an IAAF Gold Label Road Race – the national selectors chose Eliud Kipchoge, Stanley Biwott and Wesley Korir.

Perhaps the greatest indication of how tough it is to make the team is the fact that Dennis Kimetto, who broke the world record as recently as September 2014, was not selected. Seven other men with sub-2:06 PBs also missed out.

Women’s discus – Germany

When five German women threw beyond the 61m Olympic qualifying mark in the same competition in Wiesbaden last month, it set the tone for what was to come for the nation’s top discus throwers.

Nadine Muller and Julia Fischer have exchanged victories throughout this year. After filling the top two spots in both Wiesbaden and at the recent German Championships, their places on the team for Rio look relatively safe. But six German women in total have the Olympic qualifying mark and four of those appear in the top 13 in the world this year.

Men’s 400m – USA

It’s no secret that the USA is strong in every sprint event. They may have more qualifiers in some of the other sprint disciplines, but behind national leader LaShawn Merritt, the men’s 400m is extremely evenly matched.

Not only will individual places be up for grabs at next month’s US Olympic Trials, so too will spots on the 4x400m team.

Women’s 20km race walk – China

Chinese athletes finished first and second in the women’s 20km race walk at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 and there are strong chances of Liu Hong and Lu Xiuzhi taking gold and silver again in Rio.

For a country with a population of 1.3billion and a strong tradition in race walking, it’s no surprise that China dominates this event. 35 Chinese women have attained the 1:36 qualifying standard, and 15 did so in their Olympic trial race earlier this year. Olympic silver medallist Qieyang Shenjie clocked 1:28:16 to miss out on a top-three finish by just four seconds.

Men’s javelin – Germany

As far as this event is concerned, Germany is the new Finland.

For years, Finland has boasted terrific depth in this event with several 80-metre throwers each season. But in 2016, Germany looks to have the edge.

Five German men have thrown beyond 83 metres since last May. The same quintet all surpassed the 80-metre mark at last weekend’s German Championships with world leader Thomas Rohler taking victory. But the final selections for the event won’t be made until next month.

Women’s 5000m – Ethiopia

With 22 women – more than any other nation in this event – having achieved the 15:24 qualifying standard, it’s easy to see why Ethiopia swept the medals in this event at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015.

Twelve of those women have run faster than 15:00 since last May, including, of course, world champion Almaz Ayana.

Men’s 100m – Jamaica

Already this year, six Jamaican men have recorded sub-10-second marks in the 100m. A further 11 Jamaicans have attained the 10.16 qualifying mark since last May.

The USA, with 44, may have more qualifiers in this event, but for a nation of just 2.7million, Jamaica continues to punch above its weight. And while world and Olympic champion Usain Bolt is favoured to do the sprint double at next month’s Jamaican Championships, it’s worth remembering that he was beaten in both events at the 2012 edition, five weeks before winning double Olympic gold in London.

A star-studded men’s javelin competition, pitting the reigning world and Olympic champions against the man who has taken command of the event this year.

This will take centre stage at the BAUHAUS-galan meeting in Stockholm on Thursday (16), the eighth stop of this year’s IAAF Diamond League.

London 2012 Olympic Games champion Keshorn Walcott, of Trinidad and Tobago, and Kenya’s 2015 world champion Julius Yego may have been overshadowed this season by Germany’s Thomas Rohler, the Diamond Race leader, but Stockholm will offer them the perfect platform to make a statement of intent with less than two months until the Olympic Games.

“My third best throw ever was last week in Oslo so I feel I am coming into form,” said Walcott, speaking at the pre-meet press conference in the historic 1912 Olympic Stadium, which stages Sweden’s biggest annual athletics meeting. “I hope to do even better in the next few weeks.”

At the age of 19, and even though he had won the world junior title a few weeks before, Walcott surprised everyone at the 2012 Olympics, unleashing a national record of 84.58m to take gold and upset the established order in the men’s javelin, an event traditionally dominated by European athletes.

However, Thursday evening’s field features nine athletes from eight countries and four continents to offer proof of just how diverse the event has become in a very short space of time.